Elevating apparatus



(No-Model.)

A. MILLER.

ELEVATING APPARATUS.

No. 466,571. Patented Jan. 5,18%.

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UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE.

ALEXANDER MILLER,OF NEYV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR 'lO BROWN & MILLER,

- OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

ELEVA TI NG APPARATU S.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 466,571, dated January 5, 1892. Application filed September 19, 1890. gerial No. 365,467. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER MILLER, of the city of New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Elevating Apparatus, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to an improvement in elevating apparatus, and more particularly to the discharge mechanism of a salt-evaporating apparatus in which the salt is carried by a series of buckets on an endless belt up and over belt-supporting wheels and discharged from the buckets as they pass over the supporting-wheel.

The object is to provide means for preventing the salt, which is liable to fall from the bucket before it becomes completely reversed, from draining into the pocket formed by the reversed and emptied bucket below.

WVith this end in view myinvention consists in certain features of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l represents a vertical central section through the upper portion of an elevator, the section being taken transversely to the shaft upon which the endless-beltelevator-supporting wheels are mounted, showing the relative positions of the elevator-buckets and the shield as in operation. Fig. 2 is a View in front elevation, the elevator-casing being removed to show the elevator-belt and discharging mechanism more clearly.

A represents-the elevator-casing,terminating at one side in a discharge-spout a. An endless belt B, in the present instance formed by a pair of sprocket-chains, extends up and over a pair of belt-supporting wheels 0, secured upon a rotary shaft D, driven by suitable mechanism. (Notshown) The endless belt B is provided at intervals with buckets E, which become more or less completely filled with the damp salt at the bottom of the elevator, and, as they pass over the tops of the supporting-wheels 0, become gradually tilted, and finally, as they pass downwardly along the side of said wheels, become completely reversed and discharge their loads at a point above the discharge-spout a. The bucket which I find particularly well adapted for this purpose consists of a skeleton framework e, within which fits an elongated flexible cup 6', made of canvas or other suitable flexible material and secured at its margin to the rim e of the skeleton frame, preferably at-a short distance below the upper edge of said rim. The flexible cup e is not secured to'the skeleton frame other than at its edge along the rim of the skeleton frame, and is therefore free to fall out of the skeleton frame with its load as it becomes completely reversed in passing over and down from the supporting-wheels 0, thereby insuring the emptying of the load of dampv salt from the bucket. The position which the cup e assumes after it has discharged its load is clearly shown in Fig. 1, It will be observed that when it has'dropped with its load from the frame it forms a pocket on the opposite side, which pocket would be liable to catch any salt which might fall from the next succeeding bucketas it becomes gradually tilted at the top of the supporting-wheels, and that such salt would be carried by it along down the elevator, instead of being discharged at the spout a, as desired. To convey the said bucket out of the path of the falling salt as quickly as may be feasible, guide-wheels F are located beneath the supporting-wheels C, which engage the belt and throw it to one side of the path of the falling salt.

To still further and effectually prevent the loading of the reverse pockets with the salt which may escape before the load is fully discharged, I provide a shield or chute G, consisting of a flat plate of any suitable material set at an angle, as shown, between the supporting-wheels O and supported in its position by suitable braces g, projecting upwardly and laterally from supports H, attached to the casing. The shield G is sufficiently wide to intercept any salt which might fall from the bucket throughout its length and is preferably made as long as may be without interfering with the passage of the buckets past its ends. It is set at such an angle that any salt falling thereon will fall 01f from its lower end under a sufficient impulse to throw it outwardly beyond the path of the reverse pocket into a position such that it will fall without obstruction through the discharge-spout a.

\Vhat I claim as my invention is The combination, with an endless-belt elevator, supporting Wheels over which the elevator-belt passes, a discharge-spout beneath one side of the supporting-wheels, and a series ofbuckctssecnred tothebeltandprovidcdwith flexible pockets, of guide-wheels for throwing the belt to one side of the discharge-spout, and an inclined stationary shield located between the belt-supporting wheels above their centers and below the path of the partially reversed buckets, whereby the material falling upon'the shield from the partially-tilted bucketis thrown across the path of the completely-reversed bucket into the dischargespont, substantially as set forth.

ALEXANDER MILLER. Witnesses:

FREDK. HAYNES, K. E. PEMBLETON. 

